There has been a dramatic increase in the criminal justice
use of body worn cameras (BWCs) in recent years.
The purpose of these NIJ-sponsored reports is to assist
public safety and criminal justice practitioners who may be considering the
acquisition, integration, and implementation of BWCs.
BWCs can be used by law enforcement personnel to record a
variety of incidents, including traffic stops, sobriety tests, interviews, and
arrests. BWCs have a microphone, battery, and internal data storage to allow
audio and video footage to be stored and analyzed with compatible software.
There are now over 60 different body worn cameras produced specifically for law
enforcement use.
The research provides results from a recent market survey
and considerations for implementing BWCs into current systems, such as data
storage, policy, and legal implications.
The market survey identified 66 BWC products manufactured by
38 vendors.
From this market survey, researchers found that there are
many more vendors now that sell BWC products as compared to previous market
surveys; the new technological BWC features prompt the strong need for clear
policies; and BWCs is an evolving area of law that is currently unclear.
The research also found that vendors are developing and
fine-tuning next-generation BWC features, such as facial recognition, weapons
detection, and more automated analytics.
The research suggests that agencies implementing BWC
technology should consider agency objectives, financial policy, and legal
implications. Researchers advise that while a law enforcement agency can
purchase the best equipment available, without proper policies and guidance
having BWCs may become more of a problem than a solution.
These reports were authored by Vivian Hung, Esq., Steven
Babin, M.D., Ph.D., and Jacqueline Coberly, Ph.D.
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